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The Bohee Brothers

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The Bohee Brothers
James Bohee (left) and George Bohee (right)
Background information
OriginIndiantown (now Saint John) New Brunswick, Canada
InstrumentBanjo
Years active1876–1897
Members
  • James Bohee
  • George Bohee

The Bohee Brothers were a Canadian musical duo that consisted of James Bohee (1844-1897)[1][2] and George Bohee (1857-1930).[1] They were banjo players of Caribbean descent.[3]

The brothers were born in Indiantown, New Brunswick, Canada.[2] Their family later moved to Boston, USA where James began his musical career playing banjo in the late 1860s.[2] They organized their own Bohee Minstrels around 1876 which later joined a few other minstrels. The company toured the United States of America until they moved to England in 1881.[2][1] The company eventually returned to the United States but the Bohee Brothers stayed in London and continued to tour and perform regularly in Europe until James' death.[1]

James Bohee is buried in an unmarked grave in the Great Circle of Brompton Cemetery.[4]

Their performance was popular because "they played and danced at the same time".[3] "They also wrote their own material, and their songs were widely copied".[3]

In addition to performing, they ran a banjo teaching studio. James gave lessons to the Prince of Wales.[2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d "Black Musicians in the John Johnson Collection: the Bohee Brothers by Hope Williard (Part 3: the Bohee Brothers)".
  2. ^ a b c d e info042768 (2020-08-25). "The Bohee Brothers". NBBHS. Retrieved 2022-02-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b c "James Bohee". The Royal Parks. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
  4. ^ The Royal Parks: Brompton Cemetery Famous Graves and Burials Retrieved 27/10/23.